Broken Pieces
by Rum Tum Trager
Summary: Cassidy McIntyre had nothing. Her father abandoned her, she was homeless, and her mother had died. But, when she stumbles into the MacManus mansion, she finds a new family in Scud and Jane (co-written with Darke-Angyl)


Cassidy McIntyre groaned as she rolled over inside the box that her and her mother, Charlotte, had been sleeping in for the past four years. Her mother had told her that her father had died, but she still dreamed of him sometimes. It was always the same... her father turning his back on her and her mother and walking out their front door.

Cassidy reached out to brush some of the hair back from her mother's face.

'You're so cold, Momma…' she whispered, 'I know you wouldn't let me get help for you before, but you really need it now. I'm not going to take no for an answer. I'm going to go find some things I can sell to get you something to eat and drink...and hopefully some better clothes.'

She leaned over and kissed her mother's forehead, making a face at the coldness of it and frowning when her mother didn't react to her at all, before climbing out of the box and hurrying through the streets.

THE MACMANUS MANSION

Josh Frohmeyer hummed to himself as he walked down the stairs of the MacManus Mansion. His girlfriend, Jane, was still asleep. He figured the least he could do was make breakfast for her to wake up to. He walked into the kitchen, still a little overwhelmed at the size of it. The mansion belonged to his ex-girlfriend, Emily, and her family. He stepped over to the refrigerator and took out the package of bacon before grabbing a skillet to cook it in. Walking over to the stove, he turned the burner on before putting five slices of bacon in the skillet, whistling as he worked.

Cassidy's mouth fell open as she stood at the end of a long driveway and stared up at a house bigger than any she had ever seen before. She knew there had to be something inside that place that she could take to a pawn shop and get some fast cash for. She had to help her mother. She ran down the driveway, the concrete burning the bottom of her feet through the holes in the bottom of her sneakers. She wasn't wearing any socks, and the clothes she had on were dirty and ratty. She couldn't remember the last time she had been able to take a proper bath or wash her hair.

Cassidy walked carefully through the grass, going around the mansion until she spotted a ladder braced against the back of it. She grinned, quickly climbing up to one of the upper windows. She broke the window with a well placed kick, almost losing her balance and ending up falling through the window to keep herself from falling off the ladder onto the ground below. She groaned as she started pushing herself to her feet, moving as quickly as she could over to the dresser where she could see all kinds of jewelry and knick knacks.

Cassidy's blood dripped all over the carpet and the top of the dresser as she began grabbing things and stuffing them into the fanny pack she had strapped around her hips. There was glass sticking out of several different places on her arms, legs, chest, and face. She swayed slightly on her feet, already beginning to feel dizzy from the blood loss since it had been so many days since she had had anything to eat or drink.

DOWNSTAIRS

Josh looked up in shock when he heard the sound of glass breaking upstairs. Worried that it was Jane, he abandoned the bacon and rushed up the stairs. He looked confused as he followed the sounds to Rebecca's and Connor's room, throwing open the door and yelling when he noticed a young girl stealing Rebecca's jewelry.

'STOP RIGHT THERE!'

Cassidy turned around and looked at the man in shock, falling to her knees. She opened her mouth to say something, but fell over instead, reaching weakly toward the window.

Josh snarled as the teenage girl passed out. He pulled off his shirt and wrapped it around one of the deeper cuts before scooping her into his arms. He carried her down the hall to the special room that the family had set up for medical emergencies. Putting her on the bed, he grabbed the emergency cell phone off the bed side table and called Simon to explain what had happened.

'Work on getting as much of the glass out of her body as you can. I'll be there as soon as I can get to the car and drive over,' Dr. Simon Tam instructed him.

'Hurry!' Josh responded before hanging up the phone and looking around for a pair of tweezers. He exclaimed in triumph when he found a pair and looked over at the teenager. He shook his head. She didn't look like she was a day over thirteen, and she was so thin. He assumed that she hadn't eaten in days. Sighing, he stretched out carefully on the bed beside her and began getting the glass out of her wounds.

Simon stepped into the medical room less than half an hour later and began examining the young girl.

'How long has she been unconscious?' he asked as he took her vital signs. As he waited for Josh to speak, he began cleaning her wounds and stitching up the deeper ones, 'grab one of the hospital gowns out of the second drawer. These clothes aren't good for anything but the trash bin.'

Josh nodded. He retrieved the hospital gown and handed it to Simon.

'Almost an hour. I caught her stealing some of Becks' jewelry.'

He reached out and brushed some of the hair back from her face.

'She's gotta be homeless or something.'

He looked up at Simon.

'How old do you think she is?'

Simon finished cutting off the girl's clothes, making sure she stayed covered with the hospital gown and then tying the gown around her neck so that it would stay on. He carefully pulled her up into a sitting position, motioning for Josh to tie the straps on the back. Laying her back down, he studied her carefully and hooked up an IV while he answered.

'I would guess anywhere from twelve to fourteen, possibly as old as fifteen. I doubt if she's any older than that, but it's hard to tell as malnourished as she is.'

Josh shook his head, sighing as he watched Simon take care of the girl. The sight of her tugged at his heart, and he knew that he had to help her.

'Poor kid..' he murmured, 'no one should have to go through something like this, especially a young kid like her…'

Simon nodded his agreement.

'She probably had a reason for trying to take Becca's jewelry. Did you get a chance to ask her about it before she passed out?'

Cassidy began to stir, groaning softly. "Momma..." She whimpered as she began to move around.

Josh sighed.

'I never got a chance to. She passed out before I could ask her.'

Simon nodded, glancing down when the girl began to stir.

'It looks like she's coming around...'

Cassidy's eyes slowly opened, widening in fear when she found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. She immediately began to try to sit up, ignoring her own pain as she moved. She had to get back to her mother. She had to make sure her mother was okay.

'Shh...' Simon whispered in a soothing voice, 'my name is Dr. Simon Tam. Joshua here told me he caught you trying to steal jewelry from his friends. Why'd you do it?'

Cassidy tried to push past the doctor.

'I need to get back to Momma. She's sick. I needed money to get her food and something to drink.'

'You're not going anywhere, kid,' Josh insisted, snarling at her, 'you're injured, and when Becks gets home you're gonna apologize to her for trying to steal her stuff.'

He put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back onto the bed.

'No!' Cassidy shouted, fighting against him, 'I have to go check on Momma! She's really sick!'

She starts coughing, choking and groaning in pain.

'You have to let me go check on her!'

'I can go check on her,' Josh said, squeezing the girl's hand, 'just tell me your name and where to go. I promise I'll make sure she's okay.'

He gave her a soft smile.

'I'll even bring her back here so Dr. Tam can look after her, too.'

Cassidy sighed as her coughing fit eased up, looking down in shame.

'We live in the large cardboard box behind the empty building that used to be Stack and Save. My name's Cassidy.'

'Cassidy…' said Josh softly, 'well, I'm Josh. But, you can call me Scud. Everybody does.'

He grinned.

'I'll go find her. You stay here.'


End file.
